MeridianLink Reports Third Quarter 2021 Results

MeridianLink, Inc. (NYSE: MLNK), a leading provider of modern software platforms for financial institutions and consumer reporting agencies, today announced financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2021.

“We are extremely pleased with our Q3 results, which included 29% year-over-year revenue growth, while continuing to demonstrate high levels of profitability with 46% adjusted EBITDA margins,” said Nicolaas Vlok, chief executive officer of MeridianLink. “This quarter’s solid performance spotlights that financial institutions and consumer reporting agencies choose us time and time again to better serve their customers by accelerating their digital transformation. The adoption of MeridianLink Portal by more than 60 new and existing clients highlights this demand. As a market leader, we are ideally positioned to take advantage of these emerging digitalization trends in our target and adjacent markets.”

Quarterly Financial Highlights:

Revenue of $67.4 million, an increase of 29% year-over-year
Operating loss of $(8.8) million, or (13)% of revenue and Non-GAAP operating profit of $17.1 million, or 25% of revenue
Adjusted EBITDA of $31.0 million, or 46% of revenue
Cash flow from operations of $19.1 million, and Free Cash Flow of $17.6 million

Business and Operating Highlights:

MeridianLink secured another strong roster of new logo customers and cross-sell wins within our target markets of community banks, credit unions, and consumer reporting agencies (CRAs)
The company expanded further into adjacent markets, including signing a consumer specialty lending client with a national footprint and a top-100 bank with greater than $20 billion AUM
MeridianLink added more than 60 new and existing clients to MeridianLink Portal, our consumer lending, digital point of sale solution
The company launched several new integrations and enhancements to our data verification offerings to enable CRA clients to expand their portfolio of data services, including recurring background checks that reduce risk, and new features in our Advanced QuickApp tool that enables clients to serve customers more robustly
For CRAs using Mortgage Credit Link, MeridianLink expanded verification of employment offerings to mortgage lenders through a key new integration

Business Outlook

Based on information as of today, November 3, 2021, the Company issues fourth quarter financial guidance and raises the full year 2021 financial guidance as follows:

Fourth Quarter Fiscal 2021:

Revenue is expected to be in the range of $59.5 million to $60.5 million
Adjusted EBITDA is expected to be in the range of $21.0 million to $22.0 million

Full Year 2021:

Revenue is expected to be in the range of $263.2 million to $264.2 million
Adjusted EBITDA is expected to be in the range of $119.7 million to $120.7 million

Conference Call Information

MeridianLink will hold a conference call to discuss our third quarter 2021 results today, November 3, 2021, at 2:00 p.m. Pacific Time (5:00 p.m. Eastern Time). The conference call can be accessed by dialing (877) 284-4396 from the United States and Canada or (873) 415-0298 internationally with conference ID 1728237. A live webcast of the conference call can be accessed from the investor relations page of MeridianLink’s website at ir.meridianlink.com. An archived replay of the webcast will be available at the same website following the conclusion of the call. A telephonic replay will be available until approximately 8:59 p.m. Pacific Time (11:59 p.m. Eastern Time) on Wednesday, November 10, 2021, at (800) 585-8367 from the United States and Canada or (416) 621-4642 internationally with conference ID 1728237.

For More Information:

Press Contacts

Becky Frost

(714) 784-5839

becky.frost@meridianlink.com

Investor Relations Contact

Erik Schneider

(714) 332-6357

InvestorRelations@meridianlink.com

About MeridianLink

MeridianLink® (NYSE: MLNK) is a leading provider of cloud-based software solutions for financial institutions, including banks, credit unions, mortgage lenders, specialty lending providers and consumer reporting agencies. Headquartered in Costa Mesa, California, MeridianLink provides services to more than 1,900 customers, including a majority of the financial institutions on Forbes’ 2021 lists of America’s Best Credit Unions and Banks. Further information can be found at www.meridianlink.com.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

To supplement the financial measures presented in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, or GAAP, we provide certain non-GAAP financial measures, such as adjusted EBITDA and adjusted EBITDA margin; non-GAAP operating income (loss); non-GAAP net income (loss); non-GAAP cost of revenue; non-GAAP sales and marketing expenses; non-GAAP research and development expenses; non-GAAP general and administrative expenses; and free cash flow. The presentation of these financial measures is not intended to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for, or superior to, financial information prepared and presented in accordance with GAAP. Rather, we believe that these non-GAAP financial measures, when viewed in addition to and not in lieu of our reported GAAP financial results, provide investors with additional meaningful information to assess our financial performance and trends, enable comparison of financial results between periods, and allow for greater transparency with respect to key metrics utilized internally in analyzing and operating our business. The following definitions are provided:

Adjusted EBITDA: net income (loss) before interest expense, taxes, depreciation, amortization, stock/unit-based compensation expense, employer payroll taxes on employee stock transactions, certain expenses associated with our IPO, sponsor and third-party acquisition related costs, losses resulting from early repayment of debt, lease termination charges, and deferred revenue reductions from purchase accounting
Non-GAAP operating income: GAAP income (loss) from operations, excluding the impact of stock/unit-based compensation, employer payroll taxes on employee stock transactions, and sponsor and third-party acquisition-related costs
Non-GAAP net income: GAAP net income (loss), excluding the impact of stock/unit-based compensation, employer payroll taxes on employee stock transactions, and sponsor and third-party acquisition-related costs
Non-GAAP cost of revenue: GAAP cost of revenue, excluding the impact of stock/unit-based compensation, employer payroll taxes on employee stock transactions, and amortization of developed technology
Non-GAAP operating expenses: GAAP operating expenses, excluding the impact of stock/unit-based compensation and employer payroll taxes on employee stock transactions
Free cash flow: GAAP cash flow from operating activities plus GAAP purchases of property and equipment (Capital Expenditures) and capitalized costs related to developed technology (Capitalized Software)

Reconciliations to comparable GAAP financial measures are available in the accompanying schedules, which are posted as part of this earnings release on our website. No reconciliation is provided with respect to certain forward-looking non-GAAP financial measures as the GAAP measures are not accessible on a forward-looking basis. We cannot reliably predict all necessary components or their impact to reconcile such financial measures without unreasonable effort. The events necessitating a non-GAAP adjustment are inherently unpredictable and may have a significant impact on our future GAAP financial results.

Forward-Looking Statements

This release contains, and our above-referenced conference call and webcast will contain, statements which are not historical facts and are considered forward-looking within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act. Generally, these statements can be identified by the use of words such as “anticipates,” “believes,” “estimates,” “expects,” “intends,” “may,” “plans,” “projects,” “seeks,” “should,” “will,” and variations of such words or similar expressions, although not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words. Further, statements describing our strategy, outlook, guidance, plans, intentions, or goals are also forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements reflect our predictions, expectations, or forecasts, including, but not limited to, statements regarding, and guidance with respect to, our future financial and operational performance, our strategic initiatives, our development or delivery of new or enhanced solutions, our market size and growth opportunities, and our competitive positioning. Actual results may differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements and will be affected by a variety of risks and factors that are beyond our control including, without limitation, risks related to our business and industry, as well as those set forth under the caption “Risk Factors” in our final prospectus filed on July 28, 2021, and our other SEC filings. Additional information will also be set forth in Item 1A. Risk Factors, or elsewhere, in our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2021. Any forward-looking statement contained herein or provided on the related conference call is based on reasonable assumptions as of the date hereof. We undertake no obligation, other than as required by applicable law, to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.